Vehicle manufacturers and/or suppliers of components and systems that are installed on a vehicle typically define vehicle reference data for use in servicing the vehicle, and in particular, the components and systems installed on the vehicle. As an example, a vehicle manufacturer may define, for an internal combustion engine installed in a vehicle, vehicle reference data such as engine coolant temperature data, mass air flow sensor data, and throttle position sensor data.
The owner of a vehicle may take their vehicle to a service facility where some type of vehicle service may be carried out on the vehicle (i.e., the vehicle under service). Depending on the type of vehicle service carried out, a technician at the service facility may use a vehicle service tool, such as the MODIS Modular Diagnostic Information System (Elite 7.2), manufactured by Snap-on Incorporated, Kenosha, Wis.
Vehicle service tools may include applications that use vehicle reference data to carry out various application functions. A vehicle service tool may include vehicle reference data for a plurality of different vehicle makes and models. In order to use the proper vehicle reference data for the vehicle under service, each application on the vehicle service tool typically prompts a user to select one or more vehicle attributes associated with the vehicle under service until the user enters a sufficient number of vehicle attributes such that the vehicle service tool may determine the proper vehicle reference data.
The vehicle attributes needed by each application of a vehicle service tool may be the same as the vehicle attributes needed by other applications or may be different from the vehicle attributes needed by other applications. In some situations, an application of a vehicle service tool may prompt a user to re-enter a vehicle attribute that the user entered previously for another application of the vehicle service tool while serving the same vehicle. In such situations, the user of the vehicle service tool may become annoyed and/or frustrated that the user has to re-enter the same vehicle attribute while using the vehicle service tool to service the same vehicle.